Christie hurts leg in "finale'

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, August 20, 1996

GATESHEAD, England - Just like the defense of his Olympic 100-meter title, Linford Christie's last scheduled appearance for Britain ended prematurely with a knee injury Monday.

Christie finished second to compatriot John Regis in the 200 meters at the BUPA Challenge track meet, twisting his knee in the process. That prevented Christie from competing against Olympic champion Donovan Bailey at 100 meters.

Bailey warmed up in a Newcastle United soccer shirt with

"9.84" - his Olympic and world record time - splashed on the back. The Canadian won the 100 comfortably in 10.19 seconds, with Britain's Ian Mackie second in 10.25. The meet was billed as Christie's finale for Britain, his 63rd appearance for his country. However, Christie, whose schedule and plans can change from week to week, told British coach Malcolm Arnold before the meet he will run in next year's European Cup in Munich, Germany.

Hockey team waits

BURNABY, British Columbia - The U.S. hockey team preparing for World Cup play is still without Jeremy Roenick and Chris Chelios, but the two roster spots will be kept open until the U.S. team faces off against Canada Aug. 31 in Philadelphia.

Both players are engaged in contract negotiations and have yet to suit up for the U.S. team, which began training last week at Providence, R.I. It moved west on Monday and plays Canada on Tuesday night in Vancouver and Wednesday night at San Jose in the first of four exhibition games.

Chang bounces back

COMMACK, N.Y. - Michael Chang rebounded from having his ATP hardcourt streak snapped with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over David Prinosil of Germany in the opening round of the Waldbaum Hamlet Cup.

The top-seeded Chang, who is ranked third in the world, had won l4 straight matches on the ATP hardcourt circuit before losing to Andre Agassi in the final at Cincinnati on Aug. 11.

*Teenage star Venus Williams, making another of her infrequent appearances on the pro tour, beat Germany's Barbara Ritter 7-5, 6-3 to qualify for the main draw of $450,000 Toshiba Tennis Classic in Carlsbad. Williams, 16, will play Katarina Studenikova of Slovakia in the first round at La Costa Resort and Spa.

Elsewhere

*The first-round Roller Hockey International playoff series between the Oakland Skates and Vancouver VooDoo will go to the maximum three games Wednesday night in Vancouver, the host VooDoo scoring a 5-2 victory in Game 2.

*The USA men's wheelchair basketball team continued its roll at the Atlanta Paralympics with a 92-49 victory over Sweden. Reggie Colton led the scoring with 26 points, and Trooper Johnson of Santa Cruz scored 24.

*Dick Weber rolled his first 300 game in four years and then added a second six games later as the 66-year-old Hall of Famer took the first-round lead of the Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital Senior Open in Waterford, Mich.

*Randy Duck's 3-point shot at the buzzer gave the Cal men's basketball team a 97-96 victory over Varese (Italy) in the fifth game of the Bears' European trip. Duck and Ed Gray led Cal with 25 points each. Cal is 2-3 on its journey and will wrap up the trip with a game against Benetton Treviso Tuesday.

*The USF women's basketball team closed out its European tour with a 71-66 loss to host Valenciennes, France on Monday. USF finished the tour with a 2-3 record. Valerie Gillon, who has completed her regular season eligibility with USF, scored 17 points Monday in her final appearance with the Dons.&lt;